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Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (born 20 April 1889) is a German military commander and former soldier. Early Years Adolf Hitler was on the 20th of April, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, then part of Austria-Hungary, as the fourth of six children. His parents were Alois Hitler Sr. (1837-1903) and Klara Hitler (née Pölzl, 1860-1907). Hitler is said to have grown up in a torn household, between an authoritarian father and an overprotective mother. Early on, Hitler, influenced by his father, developed militaristic and nationalistic tendencies. Hitler's father died in 1903, leaving a government pension to his wife and children - of whom at this point only two were left, Adolf and Klara. Hitler's other siblings, Gustav, Ida, Otto and Edmund, had either died in infancy or, in Edmund's case, from measles in the year 1900 at the age of six. Hitler, who saw himself as a talented artist, tried the career of a painter in the 1900s, moving first to Linz and then, after his mother also died in 1907, to Vienna. However, Hitler's gifts did not match his artistic inspirations, leading to his subsequent rejection by the Academy of the Arts in Vienna. Hitler, even though initially deterred and aimless in his life, wasting his mother's inheritance, would soon feel forced to turn to the only other thing he liked: The military. The Great War When Hitler heard of the outbreak of the Great War, his contemporary and friend August Kubizek described him as ecstatic. "Hitler at the time I can only describe as apolitical. He did not really care much for either the Austrian or the German monarchy, but on the other hand did not speak out in favor of either country being a republic either. I would however describe him as a nationalist. He was in favor of a pan-German nation state and he was ferociously francophobic at the time, seeing France as Germany's nemesis and most formidable enemy - an enemy that had to be destroyed."''Kubizek, August: "Meine Zeit mit Hitler", 1931 Hitler crossed the border into Germany in order to serve with the German military. There, he was assigned the Bavarian 16th Reserve Infantry Regiment. This move would, after the war, be criticized by some ethnically German Austrians, claiming that Hitler did betray his fatherland for another country. ''"Austria gave this man all it could, but in her hour of need, Hitler left his countrymen to fight the Serbians, the Italians and the Russians alone."''Zita of Bourbon-Parma (in the name of her son Otto von Habsburg) in a letter to Paul von Hindenburg following Hitler's promotion to General, 30 July 1928 Hitler would later claim that he desired to fight for Greater Germany rather than for the Austro-Hungarian multiethnic state. Hitler also would go on to claim that he had gotten special permissions to do so by the Austrian and Bavarian officials, if not the respective royal houses. Kubizek would later go on to question those claims in his book about Hitler. ''"I heard those claims, but I find them hard to believe. Adolf did not have connections of any kind to either the Austrian nor the Bavarian upper class. I think that the chaos of general mobilization simply allowed him to slip through the citizenship requirements."''Kubizek, August: "Meine Zeit mit Hitler", 1931 Kubizek, at that point Hitler's best friend, is now suddenly forced to part ways with him as he goes on to serve in the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian military whereas Hitler's German regiment travels north. Kubizek would not see Hitler again until 1928. Hitler first saw combat the First battle of Ypres at the end of October of 1914. He was promoted to Private on November 1st and bestowed with the Iron Cross II. Class on December 2nd for heroic bravery in the face of French artillery bombardment. Hitler joined the ''Meldegänger, the information carriers, on November 9th, opting for one of the more dangerous jobs on the front line, necessitating him to cross the heavily shelled backline through narrow support trenches again and again and again. On July 19th and 20th, 1916, Hitler saw combat at the Battle of Fromelles, where the 16th fought with distinction. He was later wounded at the Battle of the Somme on October 5th and forced to return home to recover. In Munich, he noticed for the first time that the enthusiasm for the war was fading. Hitler returned to his force in March of 1917. He was awarded the Iron Cross I. Class for exceptional activism as a communications soldier after all telephone lines at the frontline had collapsed. On October 15th, 1918, Hitler was injured by mustard gas at the Battle of Wervik and was temporarily blinded. He reached a hospital back in Germany on October 21st and stayed there until November 19th. When he was allowed to leave the hospital, Germany had lost the war. After the War Hitler was one of the few soldiers allowed to remain in the Reichswehr. He originally served as an intelligence officer in Bavaria, where he would also investigate the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei and get to know its leaders, Anton Drexler and later Gregor Strasser. After he had investigated the DAP twice (first in early 1919 and then again as an already higher-ranking soldier in 1923), he noted to his commander: "A bunch of sad men, some of them not even veterans, most of them poor, who spend their days in taverns crying about the Jews. While I feel little particular sympathy for the Jewish people myself, a nationalistic movement that does not recognize France's major role in Germany's current situation and that does not vow to destroy French dominance in Germany and in the entire world is failed from the start."''Hitler, Adolf: "Militärischer Aufklärungsbericht 4823: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Bericht V)", 1923 Hitler, who was previously scolded for his overly political way of writing his reports, had secret sympathizers in the military, who helped him rise to the rank Unteroffizier, the lowest officer rank, in November of 1923. Hitler then showed potential for military logistics at a seminar in December of the same year and was promoted three times in 1924, ending up at the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He served on the staff of Generalmajor Otto Hasse, the later commander of the Weimar Republic's 3rd Division. Hasse wrote an urgent letter of recommendation to the supreme command of the Reichswehr, pointing to Hitler as one of Germany's potentially most talented officers and eventually getting him promoted to Stabsfeldwebel in January of 1925. ''"This man is the archetype of the German brigadier general: He is quick-minded, he does not talk much, he does not ask questions, he executes orders. He can act independently and as part of a command structure. He understands the infrastructure of motorways, railways and aerial supply."''Hasse, Otto: "Empfehlungsschreiben bzgl. Oberfeldwebel Hitler, Adolf", 22 December 1924 Hitler subsequently caught the eye of Hans von Seeckt, Chief of Staff of the German Army, and was moved from his staff position at Hasse's side to the Reichswehrministerium in Berlin. There, he was again acknowledged as a logistical genius - even though Seeckt had his doubts about Hitler's ability as a leader. ''"A fanatic is not enough to win the battle. Hitler appears to me as a nationalistic technocrat, someone willing to do everything for his own success all the while also supporting the fatherland with great fervor. I suggest giving him his own command soon to evaluate whether or not he is actually able to see his men as soldiers - or if he seems them as yet another tool to climb the ranks."''Seeckt, Hans v.: "Militärische Beurteilung: Hitler, Adolf", 15 March 1925 In spite of Seeckt's doubts, Hitler rose to Oberleutnant in June 1925, skipping the rank of Leutnant entirely. Hitler joined Walther Reinhardt's commanding staff of Gruppenkommando 2 in Kassel, Hesse, serving as second-in-command under the chief of staff, first Alfred von Vollard-Bockelberg and later on Generalmajor Gerd von Rundstedt. Rundstedt, later of one Hitler's superiors, would go on to recall: ''"Hitler without a doubt had talent, but Hasse had promised us a new Hannibal. This was merely another German officer: Good at executing orders, bad at making them himself."''Deutsches Reichswehrministerium: "Protokoll 1932/VII/17 D (Gerd von Rundstedt)", July 17, 1932 '' Not slowed down by the doubt of his superiors, Hitler had risen to the rank of Hauptmann in December of 1925 and to Major in June of 1926. This was parallel to many other officers like him, as the Reichswehr followed secret rearmament directives from the Weimar government and was expanding its officer corps massively. Hitler became Oberstleutnant in November of 1926 and Oberst in August of 1927. Just one rank short of the generalship, his career seemed to stall, especially because of the mistrust of Generalmajor Rundstedt, Hitler's direct superior. However, President Paul von Hindenburg demanded to recruit more generals to decisively increase the size of the general staff up until 1930. This would elevate other jumpstart officers like Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel into the generalship first, but finally, on July 2nd, 1928, Hitler was also confirmed as Generalmajor by the supreme command of the Army. General of the Republic Sources Category:People